I went off track for FOUR DAYS and I gained 3 pounds. Just feeling really frustrated. 5’2” SW 125 GW 120 CW 126.6

[adriana28]

@icashoutapp Everything you said is completely valid. I try to take pics every few weeks to track progress and weigh myself once a week. I was just silly for weighing myself after a weekend of eating out. I gotta remember it takes longer than 3 months to see progress. I get impatient sometimes
Also I got a food scale a few weeks ago and now rely heavily on it because I was measuring in spoons and cups etc which I learned isn’t so accurate. I go by grams now.

 

[icashoutapp]

@adriana28 Then you’re on the right track! You also don’t have much to lose so every bite and lick of peanut butter off the spoon has to be tracked. Lol Upping my step count helped me toward the end too. I went from 143-115 in ten months. The last few lbs are the hardest. You’re doing it right though.

 

[adriana28]

@icashoutapp Congrats that awesome! How many steps do you try to do a day? My goal is 5k which I usually get done, I just sit in front of a computer all day so after I do a workout on my peloton bike I try to go walk for a little bit. Realistically I should probably be doing more but since my cardio is so intense on the bike I feel like that makes up for it.

 

[icashoutapp]

@adriana28 Thank you. When I was in a deficit, I did between 10-15k a day. I would walk on the treadmill in the mornings for 30-45 minutes. Then I’d walk around my job (my job entails walking every thirty minutes or so). During my lunch break I would walk for about 20 minutes around my office. If I wasn’t at work I would add another 30 minute walk on the treadmill.

Now that I’m not in a deficit I get around 6-8k a day. I don’t do much actual cardio.

 

[adriana28]

@icashoutapp That’s a great routine you have. I think I am going to start to walk BEFORE my workouts because I definitely struggle with doing it after. I’ll be super wiped after doing a peloton workout and really not be able to go for a walk so I’m going to switch it up and see what happens.

 

[joyinyah]

@adriana28 I'm going to upset some people here, but ah well...

3 lbs is ~10500 calories. Spread over 4 days that would be 2625 calories per day. Not total, not over your deficit, but over your maintenance.

So if your maintenance is 1800 and you were eating 4,425 calories per day for 4 days... yes, it's possible that it's all fat.

If your maintenance is 1500, then 4125 would do it.

Everyone saying it's impossible is wrong. It's definitely possible. I've done it myself.

A cheeseburger (800) with minimal toppings, fries (950) and a shake (650 base, + ~300 for any mix ins) is an easy 2700. A nice normal 300 calorie breakfast puts me at 3k. And that's without any dinner or snacks yet.

It's possible you gained 3 lbs of fat.

However...

I'm currently 233.8 lbs. I started at 274.4 lbs. I was averaging 4000 calories per day, and let me tell ya... even then I knew it was an insane amount of food. I highly doubt you went that far off plan.

What's more likely is that it's a combination of many things:

1) normal weight fluctuations

2) water retention from a change in the type of food you're eating

3) the actual weight of the undigested food still in your body, and

4) yes, some actual fat gain.

No, you don't have to eat at 1200 forever. But you do have to eat at or below whatever your maintenance calories are, forever, if you don't want to gain weight.

If those maintenance calories are too low, you have to be more active to raise them.

If you want a higher calorie day, you have to have a couple of lower calorie days, or burn more calories.

If you want to go off book for 4 days, you'll probably need to diet for a couple of weeks to make up for it... or burn more calories.

It sucks, but that's the way it is.

And whatever it is, you know what plan you need to follow to get to your goal. Whether you gained water or fat or muscle or nothing at all... you still need to get back on your plan. It's okay to fall off, as long as you get back on track. ❤

 

[adriana28]

@joyinyah Thank you for this explanation! Very well said

 

[bubble5]

@joyinyah Great explanation, thanks!

 

[dawn16]

@adriana28 Sodium. Drink a ton of water. Weight in 2 days. Why do people freak out over this?

 

[michellelovesjay]

@dawn16 Because they haven’t yet spent a million hours researching physiology on the Internet, don’t understand water retention, and think it’s fat gain.

 

[deefaithh]

@michellelovesjay Agreed with the caveat that most people don't do ANY research on this and when they do they're typically sent down the ED rabbit hole of misinformation.

 

[dawn16]

@michellelovesjay Two second google search would show the answer. No need for millions of hours

 

[michellelovesjay]

@dawn16 This sub is chock full of people asking silly questions and having bizarre ideas about weight, but we don't hang out on Reddit to say LMGTFY, do we?

 

[tavares]

@michellelovesjay I think a lot of the people in this sub are underage girls, and a lot of people with body dysmorphia or borderline disordered fitness behaviors.

 

[michellelovesjay]

@tavares Agreed, and I'd rather we just answer their (simple) questions than send them further into the nasty internet rabbit hole on weight loss.

 

[aprile]

@tavares Yes! This is more common than we’d hope (especially since this is petite fitness). A personal example for me, is that I’ve put on about 10 lbs weight lifting over a year and half. And I still have to work towards accepting that as a positive.

 

[tavares]

@aprile That’s amazing progress though! I bet you feel so much stronger!

 

[abortionnyc]

@adriana28 It’s definitely water weight! You got this girl . If I have a huge meal, I try to avoid weighing myself the next day because it discourages me and Sometimes the number on the scale is not the end all be all.

 

[christian16134]

@adriana28 It's normal to fluctuate 1-5 pounds don't stress about it

 

[bosiame]

@adriana28 I have been weighing myself every morning for the past month and realized I fluctuate between 6 lbs every single day. As long as the weight is trending downward I don't worry about it and keep doing what I'm doing. Keep going, you're fine. You deserve to have a fun dinner with friends.